ST. JOSEPH CO. — Students who go to Penn High School will see extra security Friday. It all stems from a threat found inside the school in January.

The threat was written in a boys' bathroom stall at Penn High School on January 29. It said "This time its for real. Everyone dies." The date April 18, 2008 was also written under the message.

As soon as the school found out about the threat, administrators say they took it seriously. They also posted a letter to parents on the
district's website, and sent a letter home with students.

P-H-M superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker told WSBT the school corporation has a plan for incidents like this. Part of that plan involves being open with staff, parents and students.

"We want everybody to know exactly what happened and the kinds of things they will see [Friday]," said Thacker. "So we hope that people continue to refer to the website. We'll interact with the students, we're going to read a letter to the students prior to Friday informing them again of the situation, asking for help."

Thacker also said if students have any information about the graffiti or any concern, they should talk to school staff about it.

Students can expect to see more P-H-M staff in the halls Friday as well as additional school resource officers, extra police and firefighters. School administrators told WSBT the school added more security cameras since the beginning of the year.

If students or parents have questions about school security, they are urged to call the Director of Student and Safety Services at (574) 258-9551 or the Safe School Partner line (574) 258-9536.